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The Shimano WH-RS500 Tubeless Clincher Wheelset is a lightweight, durable wheelset that's ready to train, race, or crush the unpredictable roads ahead. Building off of the success of their WH-6800 wheelset, this wheelset provides Ultegra-level performance at a more budget-friendly price. Featuring a 20.8mm wide tubeless-ready rim, the WH-RS500 performs best with tires between 23-28mm wide, while the 24mm deep rim provides a slight aerodynamic advantage without being affected by varying wind conditions. The low-profile rim spins up quickly, performing well in both sprints or climbs.

FREE Cassette Installation - Order a cassette along with a wheelset and we can install the cassette for free. Cassette installation requires special tools that not all our customers have. The cassette will be professionally installed and torqued to spec. Just add "Please install cassette" to your order notes at checkout and we'll take care of you.

I love Shimano groupsets, and I had a good experience with a pair of entry-level WH-R501s some years ago, so I was really excited to find an Ultegra-level Shimano wheelset for less than $300! Unfortunately, I found the RS-500s to be very flexy on the road, and didn't perform as well on descents as my $200 entry-level Fulcrum wheelset. Also, on a fast descent, I hit a small piece of road debris that I never did see, and ended up with a sizable gouge in the rim! I've hit much bigger pieces of debris with cheaper wheels and have never experienced such damage before. I don't think this wheelset lives up to the Ultegra name.

Fortunately, I was able to sell the Shimano wheelset, and the customer support staff at BikeTiresDirect helped me find a good deal on a pair of Easton EA70s, which vastly outperform the Shimano WH-RS500 set. Thanks, BikeTiresDirect!

I recommend either spending $150 for the bomproof (if a little heavy) WH-RS501 wheelset, or going upmarket and spending the the extra money for the Eastons, which weigh the same as the RS500s, but are much better wheels.

We do road ride every day around 30 miles. Love the rim till it is time to fix a flat. We still use tubes so it is extremely hard to break the bead after it snaps in. You will hear it snap in when you inflate the tire. Need to find a fix for this problem.

We do road ride every day around 30 miles. Love the rim till it is time to fix a flat. We still use tubes so it is extremely hard to break the bead after it snaps in. You will hear it snap in when you inflate the tire. Need to find a fix for this problem.

I've had these now for a few months and probably have 500 or so miles on them consisting of several 25-ish mile rides and a few 50 miles rides. I've had no problems with them. They are smooth, fast, and attractive. I would have never believed that wheels, particularly at this price, would have an appreciable effect on my speed. But then there I was, looking down at the computer, ride after ride, until I became convinced that I had picked up 1-2mph. And the old wheels weren't particularly heavy!

There are lighter and faster wheels but get to a significantly better wheel, you would probably need to double the price and then some.

So, if you are a casual rider who needs to replace their wheels and wouldn't mind a modest increase in performance, get these instead of the bargain basement wheels. If you have an entry-midlevel bike with stock 2000 gram wheels, this would be a sensible upgrade (and weight saver) for those without unlimited budgets.

If I had a third bike, then I would purchase a third set. Especially at the sale price. I race back-of-the-pack triathlon and enjoy the peace of mind they give me. I have used them for three years on the tri bike and have never had a flat - ever. I use Schwalbe Pro One Tubeless tires (linked below) and change the sealant twice each year. The set on my road bike is one year old and again, never a flat. Additionally, they will take tires up to 28mm wide. I have never ridden an expensive set of wheels on my own bike so I cannot compare to questions like, how fast do they spin up? etc. They seem to ride as well and the aero wheels that came with the tri bike and with the Mavic wheels that came with the road bike. I see some people complain about adjusting any Shimano hub, yet I have never adjusted them, so I cannot comment on how easy or difficult they are to adjust.

The rear wheel keeps slipping out of the dropouts even though it is cinched down tight. Really have to crank on it to get it to stay put. Besides that really solid tubless training wheels that dont need tape which is a huge plus.

The wheel set arrived well packed, true and in perfect shape. Noticed when spun the rear wheel it didn't continue rotating very long and was noisy. Possibly the bearing seal were dragging. After a hundred miles the drag went away but the noise from the hub remained. I will take them apart for inspection or have a bike shop take a look.